The Race to Copenhagen – World Fitness Project Challenger Athletes Fight for Their Season

As the dust settles on the 2025 CrossFit Games, many elite athletes will soon set their sights on the World Fitness Project Tour Stop II.

The WFP Tour Stop II Challenger Qualifier video reviews concluded in July, and invitation emails have been sent to inboxes worldwide, offering athletes the opportunity to compete in Mesa, AZ, from August 29 to 31.

• Both Challenger Division champions from Tour Stop I — Tudor Magda and Jennifer Muir — have qualified to compete in the Pro Division for Tour Stop II. 
• Seven athletes have made the jump from Challenger to Pro, and nine dropped from Pro to Challenger. 
• A total of 139 athletes completed all three workouts for the second Online Qualifier, representing 29 different countries. 

Remind me: Colten Mertens and Fee Saghafi earned a direct spot to Tour Stop II with their performances in Indianapolis. 

With Bethany Flores announcing her pregnancy and Emma McQuaid still recovering from injury, a total of nine men and 11 women from the Challenger field have earned their spots in the Pro Division in Mesa. 

They will throw down against WFP-signed athletes as they jockey for their own WFP pro card for the 2026 season.

• New Zealand’s Jamie Simmonds and the U.S.’s Nick Mathew topped the qualifier leaderboard.

Today we’re focusing on the latter. In each division, we’ll break down which Challenger athletes are well-positioned and which have some work left to do to earn one of the 10 available roster spots to throw down in Copenhagen, where the points are doubled. 

Men’s Division

The Locks 

These five men earned a spot in the Pro division for both WFP Tour Events. 

Based on the points already gained and the points available in Mesa, the lowest any of them could rank among the current non-cardholders is 10th. 

And all of them have a chance to be the top Pro Challenger heading into the all-important Finals in Copenhagen. Mertens currently leads the way with 410 points. 

Comfortable-ish

While not mathematically guaranteed, the next four men just need a decent showing in Mesa to join the previous group in Copenhagen. 

They each qualified once in the Pro division and once in the Challenger division. 

• Chris Ibarra shifted from Pro to Challenger, while the other three moved from Challenger to Pro. 

Ibarra was the second highest finisher in Indianapolis behind Mertens at a respectable 16th place. He topped six of the Pro Card holders and collected 352 points. 

• Coincidentally, 16th is the same place in which he finished the Challenger 2 Qualifier, relegating him to the Challenger Division for Tour Stop 2. He is still in a fairly safe position to make the Finals. 

However, with his earning potential capped at 250 in Mesa, his chances of earning a 2026 Pro Card have significantly dropped. 

Tudor Magda and Ty Jenkins went one and two in Indianapolis and will now join the Pros. 

Along with Jack Farlow, they will each earn a minimum of 270 points in Mesa. 

Outside Looking In

Out of the online qualifiers, Julius Kieser was the last man to qualify for the Pro Division. 

• He finished eighth in the Challenger division in Indianapolis and now has the opportunity to rack up substantial points. 

Tola Morakinyo, Fabian Beneito, and Dani Camacho have dropped from the Pro to the Challenger Division, setting up a tight points race between the four contenders, where likely only one will extend their season.

Women’s Division

The Locks 

These seven women earned a spot in the Pro division for both WFP Tour Events. 

Based on the points already gained and the points available in Mesa, the lowest any of them could rank among the current non-cardholders is ninth (10th for Wilkinson). 

And all of them have a chance to be the top Pro Challenger heading into the all-important Finals in Copenhagen. Saghafi currently leads the way with 392 points. 

Comfortable 

The next four women have made the Pro division once and the Challenger division once. 

Two of them finished on the podium of the Challenger division in Indianapolis and have qualified in the Pro division for Mesa. 

• Jennifer Muir topped the podium in Indy, punched her ticket to her first CrossFit Games, and now joins the WFP Pro ranks in Mesa. Her breakout season continues. 

Linda Keesman and Lydia Fish banked 300+ points each in Tour Stop I, which should be enough to get them through with a decent showing in Mesa, albeit in the Challenger Division. 

While the seven women in the group above will earn their ticket by showing up in Mesa. Muir, Black, Keesman, and Fish need to stay ahead of Elena Carratalá to secure their spot. 

If Jamie Simmonds or any of the top women decline their invite, the next up is Fish, then Keesman. Either woman would be a lock for the Finals with a spot in the Pro Division in Mesa. 

The Bottom Line

Some athletes have their Finals spot locked in. Others are still in the fight. Either way, every point will count at the conclusion of the inaugural WFP season.

The race to Copenhagen is on.

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Featured Image: Scott Freymond